


that can heal me yet (troubles come though mystery is always clear)

by sammyspreadyourwings



Series: Queen's Reign (children to the bitchiest band on earth.) [1]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Childhood Friends, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Logic, Kissing, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Sad Brian May, There's no romantic feelings when they're children, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23399569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammyspreadyourwings/pseuds/sammyspreadyourwings
Summary: Roger comes up with a way to help Brian feel better when they're kids and it still works well as adults.
Relationships: Brian May/Roger Taylor
Series: Queen's Reign (children to the bitchiest band on earth.) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683214
Comments: 12
Kudos: 63





	that can heal me yet (troubles come though mystery is always clear)

**Author's Note:**

> IamnotBrianMay said a thing in the server.
> 
> I was inspired by said thing.
> 
> Also again to clarify, there is no romantic feelings when they are children. Do not ship their children selves.

Brian sniffles and rubs his eyes, only serving to rub sand into his eyes. Roger looks around trying to see if the bullies had started to pick on Bri again, but when he doesn’t see anyone or anything indicating they had messed with Brian again he frowns.

He kneels on the ground next to him, “Brian? Why are you crying?”

Brian shakes his head and looks up. The tears aren’t the ugly kind from when Brian got picked on either, but Roger feels like he should go remind the other kids that they shouldn’t mess with Brian.

“C’mon, we can’t play pirates with Fred and Deaky with you looking like that,” Roger tries.

He flails when Brian lets out another tiny bark of a sob before hiding back in his knees. Roger huffs and moves so he is sitting criss-cross-applesauce in front of his best friend. When Brian doesn’t come out of his hidey-hole Roger leans further forward and rests his chin on Brian’s knees. It makes the other boy look up and then lean back from the closeness.

Of course, Roger takes the space offered and rests on his forearms on top of Brian’s knees.

“I’m sad,” Brian says, “but mum always says I have nothing to be sad about and that crying is for little boys.”

Roger snorts, “crying is for everyone, ‘s why people cry when they’re happy as adults.”

“Adults cry?”

“Course they do, your eyes have to stay wet or they feel like sand got kicked in them.”

“That’s why they cry?”

“Have I ever lied to you before?”

Brian shakes his head, and Roger wonders how he has gotten an older boy to trust everything he says. Not even Freddie does that and Freddie admits he has the best ideas. Then again he guesses it must be fair. They follow Freddie around like mother duck and John follows Brian around like he hung the moon, so Brian’s gotta have someone else to look up to as well.

Roger can’t deny that he looks up to Brian too.

“No,” Brian says quietly, “but I’ve never seen my mum or dad…”

“They do it when the kids don’t look, can’t guess why, but my mum always tries to do it after Clare and I go to bed and Dad’s not home.”

Brian rubs at his eyes again, the tears are less but they haven’t stopped. Roger frowns and digs around in the pocket of his jumper.

“Ah!”

Brian twitches at the loud noise, “Roggie?”

Roger holds a crumpled band-aid in his hand. It’s a bit dirty and the paper is peeling away, but it should still be sticky.

“That’s a band-aid?” Brian frowns, “I don’t have a cut.”

He opens the band-aid, nearly dropping it before peeling off the paper covering the sticky bit. Roger easily ignores Brian’s questions and places the band-aid over his nose. Brian stares at him wide-eyed but he isn’t crying anymore.

“Band-aids make the hurt stop,” Roger nods and leans forward, he kisses the middle of the pink bandage.

“And now the magic of kisses makes it so you don’t cry anymore!”

That earns a tiny smile.

Roger preens and stands up holding out his hands for Brian to take. Brian unfolds and Roger thinks its rather unfair that Brian is only a little older than him but so much taller.

“Let’s go beat Fred and Deaky at pirates now!”

If John was going to ask a question about the pink bandage then he doesn’t once Roger accidentally whacks him with the foam sword.

* * *

Brian pulls the covers over his head. This day has been shit because this week has been shit and the week follows the trend of the month and the month before that.

The worst part is he can’t figure out when everything turned to shit. Smile is good. Roger is living with him now. Tim and he had finally gotten over whatever spat was from last week. None of his classes were being particularly difficult.

Everything is just shit. He wants to hide under the bed and then never emerge and then slowly fade away but all of it sounds like it takes too much energy.

“Brimi, lovely, I’m home.”

Roger shouts through the flat. He doesn’t need to shout and Brian winces at the volume. The only sound is the metronome counting out 130 beats per minute because he had been in the middle of composing with Red when he just wanted everything to stop. He peaks out when he sees Roger wander into the middle of the flat.

Not for the first time he lets the guilt eat at him that he can’t give Roger a proper flat to stay in. They have three rooms to their name, kitchen, bathroom and everything else. He also hates that he can’t hide away in his room.

“Oh,” Roger drops his voice to a whisper.

Brian balls up.

“My love,” Roger kneels on the mattress, “what’s wrong?”

Talking sounds like a lot of effort but Roger’s sad voice only makes him feel more guilty and that takes far more energy than two words.

“Everything’s shit.”

Roger crawls up the bed and drops in front of him, “not everything. I think you’re pretty fantastic, and I am. We’re the greatest.”

Brian lets out a tiny bark of a sob. The tears that he lacked the will to let fall suddenly spring forth. He isn’t surprised, he feels more connected to the world – more energized whenever Roger is near him.

“Oh dear,” Roger kisses his cheek.

Brian grimaces before burrowing into Roger’s chest. Roger strokes his back as the worst of the sobs shake him. He hears the clicking of the metronome and Roger’s soft encouragements but everything else feels fuzzy on the edges.

Hours, minutes – what does it matter – later, he looses what energy Roger has given him and pulls away. He isn’t sobbing but the tears are still falling. Roger swipes his thumbs under his eyes before using his sleeve to dab at the tears and snot. Brian flushes, feeling like a child again.

“Hey now,” Roger dabs gently.

His hands vanish and Brian shivers. He doesn’t want to be touched right now but he wants Roger to touch him and he doesn’t know what he would hate more so he stays immobilized hoping Roger chooses him. He is too tired to care and too tired to sleep.

Everything feels less shitty but it’s still shit.

Brian looks up when he hears some paper rustle. Roger is pulling apart a band-aid, an alien one with neon green backing and tiny gray UFOs, before sticking it across the bridge of Brian’s nose.

He blinks.

“There, no more hurt,” Roger leans down and kisses the middle of the bandage before drifting to his lips, “no more tears.”

Brian smiles gently, which earns him a crooked grin with Roger’s tongue poking out between his teeth and crinkled eyes.

“Do you always have band-aids with you?” Brian asks quietly.

“Mama made me because I was always skinning my knees and wouldn’t come to her,” Roger shrugs, “turns out I have a better use for them.”

“Your knuckles when you split them on the rim?”

The banter is exhausting him.

“Maybe,” Roger kisses the band-aid again, “I’m going to make food. Join if you feel like it, if not I’ll put your serving in the fridge.”

Brian nods and closes his eyes wondering why Roger’s “magic band-aid spell” always seems to stop the tears and the hurt less.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, leave your thoughts and comments below or come talk to me on Tumblr.


End file.
